Pennsylvania man chases 'exterminators' with knife, gun: "A 78-year-old man used a kitchen knife and a shotgun to chase three men posing as exterminators from his Lowhill Township home, according to police. A man who was 40 to 50 years old, about 5 feet 6 inches tall and 190 pounds with a heavy build and brown hair parted on the side entered the home through an unlocked front door. Upon entering, he advised the 78-year-old male resident he would do a free home extermination. During the conversation, the homeowner noticed two other men rummaging through his residence. Both were between 25 and 27 years old, about 6 feet tall, 180 pounds and had thin builds and dirty blond hair parted on the side. When the homeowner ordered them to leave his house, a fight broke out. While the homeowner struggled with one of the younger males, the older male restrained the homeowner. But the homeowner broke free, grabbed a kitchen knife and ordered all three men out of his house. The older male tried to regain entry. But by then, the homeowner had a shotgun in hand. The three men fled in a green van south on Route 100. They managed to steal about $10 in coins."


Oklahoma Homeowner Guns Down Burglar: "Authorities said a homeowner shot and killed a burglary suspect after a confrontation in a rural Midwest City neighborhood. Oklahoma County Sheriff's spokesman Mark Myers said the resident told deputies he spotted a man breaking into a large shed on his property and confronted him about 2:30 p.m. Thursday. When the suspect got into his car and tried to flee, the homeowner said he stepped in front of the vehicle to prevent the man from leaving. The homeowner said he fired one shot from a shotgun as the suspected burglar lunged toward him in his car. Myers said the man died at the scene. The names of the victim and the shooter were not immediately released"


Mississippi oldster wounds intruder: "An 84-year-old man, who repeatedly held off an alleged intruder Sunday when the man tried to break into his home, finally got a gun in desperation and shot through a door, wounding the intruder in the leg. At the time, the elderly resident was at home with his 74-year-old wife about 5 a.m. at their residence in the area of Adams Street in Bayside Park. Hancock County Sheriff's Investigator Andre Fizer said the couple heard a disturbance as a man tried to break through the front door and also tried to enter through a back door and a rear window of the residence. The resident called 911 and reported that the intruder was trying to force his way into the home, and was threatening to kill him. He held himself against the door to keep the man from entering. "The victim stated that when he became physically tired from holding the door, he became fearful for his and his wife's lives," Fizer said. As he grew weaker trying to hold off the intruder, the resident asked his wife to bring his .45-caliber Colt handgun. He fired one shot through a lower panel of the door. Although meant as a warning shot, the round struck 20-year-old Wade Ledesma of Bay St. Louis in the lower left leg. He was initially taken by American Medical Response to Memorial Hospital at Gulfport, then was transferred to University Hospital in Jackson. Ledesma was listed in fair condition Monday, Fizer said."


South Dakota Man Shoots Mountain Lion: "A late report of a mountain lion that was treed by a rancher's dog and shot near Oral, in far southwestern South Dakota. The incident took place July 17 when Alan Burg was about to start his pickup and go to work. After spotting the lion in a tree near his house, Burg shot it with a rifle. The big cat jumped down and ran into some tall grass. A game warden was called and dogs were used to track the mountain lion. The wounded animal was found about 40 yards from the tree and was shot again. Officials say shooting the cat was justified because of its nearness to the ranch house and the threat to animals and livestock on the ranch."